In our current Real Estate Market, Realtors should be considering the following tactics to BRAND THEMSELVES.  Things will turn around and when they do, you will be fresh in the customers' minds, as long as you position yourself in the forefront:

* ADVERTISE: Even though your budget may be affected with potentially less closings, this is not the time to fade away and be cheap on your advertising.  Do, however, cut out things that aren't working, no matter how much you like them.  Now is the time to step up your game while the other Realtors are starting to cut corners to save money.  We're all feeling the heat, but you must keep your presence in the market, lest you fade away.

* MARKET NICHE:  Is there an event in your community you are particularly fond of?  Does this event have a sponsor or spokesperson?  Can you volunteer and brand yourself while doing so?  You can create a market niche in several ways:

          1) By connecting with an organization in your community.  My particular interest is the Alachua County Humane Society and I like to donate with every completed sale.  I have a project I am gearing up to undertake (in the form of fundraising) and in the course of helping and doing some good for animals, there are people that will remember me and my profession for when they need real estate services.

          2) Your other market niche can come in the form of a specialty.  You need to OWN your specialty.  I have worked with a ton of first-time homebuyers.  I have written a pretty consice first-time homebuyers "Guide to Survival" and am working on marketing to assist this group.  You may consider being a short sale specialist if you are in an area that is higher in pre-foreclosures than actual foreclosures.  The key is repetition and showcasing that you are the foremost authority on that niche.                   

* COMMUNICATION, CONSISTENCY, QUALITY AND FOLLOW-THROUGH:  I have had a lot of customers that I work with compliment me for being so responsive.  I feel that I am simply doing my job by responding to phone calls and e-mails and following through with customer inquires.  It's amazing how time and time again I will hear about the "Realtor that never called back" or the "Realtor that promised to _____ and never did".  These simple things are the foundation of this business, and if you cannot stay in communication and follow up with a response to customer questions or concerns, then you need to take some time to reflect on whether or not THAT is the reason for your lack of closed transactions.  It's easy to blame your lack fo success on the economic woes, but you will weed yourself right out of this business if you continue to make EXCUSES.   Service is the basic tenant for this profession and if you find you are not service oriented, you might need to re-evaluate your career choice.

* BE POSITIVE: Coming off the heels of that last paragraph, it struck me that it is imperative to mention the need to be positive.  YES there are a lot of problems with the current market, lending, yada yada.  Are you going to continue to place blame, create a negative mindset and energy about yourself, make excuses and continue on GIVING UP and being DEFEATED??  That is all you're doing by being negative: setting yourself up for defeat and to abandon a business that mandates perserverence in the face of adversity!  THE REAL ESTATE MARKET IS CYCLICAL and what comes up, must go down.  We are going through an adjustment period and it could last some time while this mess is sorted out.  But if you continue to operate under the assumption that there IS NO LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL, how do you plan on surviving in this business?  However bad the situation may be, there are still buyers and sellers that need your services.  People still need a roof over their heads, and when that is no longer commonplace, then I'll cool my jets. 

Get in the habit of thinking "It is a good time to buy because interest rates are awesome, there is a lot of inventory and selction and prices are LOW" NOT "The market sucks.  No one is buying anything, foreclosures are everywhere, I can't make any money".  The negativity is absolutely transferred to your buyers and they can SENSE it about you, even if you're faking a smile and "acting natural".  You might inadvertently scare buyers who are already on the fence by not believing in your product and being negative!

* CONTINUE TO EDUCATE YOURSELF & KEEP YOUR EARS OPEN FOR PROGRAMS THAT HELP PEOPLE: If your business is slow and you already went to write a {positive} blog and you just went to update your incredibly organized and easy to navigate website, take some time to research something real estate related.  How much do you know about Starker Exchanges?  What is AmeriDream?  What are the FHA approved condos in your area?  What are some tips to increase energy efficiency in your home and your customer's homes?  No one has all the answers and there is always something new to digest.  Knowledge really IS power: the power to realize that you are successful because you have the right tools in your tool box and the resources to help people when you are presented with a challenge that your competion might not know how to overcome.

* ASK FOR REFERRALS AND NEVER STOP PROSPECTING:  This is so well known it is almost embarressing to bring up, but when was the last time you asked a past customer for a referral?  Think about all of the customers you've worked with over the years and how many people they all know.  Someone is bound to need a Realtor.  Continue to keep prospects in your pipeline, even if they are 6 months+ out from buying a home.  6 months goes by really fast and you could help that prospect with something when they are ready.

* KEEP IN TOUCH:  When was the last time you spoke with a past customer?  Did you remember to send out holiday cards?  Have you sent a useful article (real estate related or not) to anyone via e-mail recently?  Have you offered to perform an up-to-date market analysis of the home that bought 3 years ago?  Did you link a customer to a community events calender so they can stay up to date with fun things to do in the area?  Or have you recently simply said "Hi, just wanted to check on you and make sure everything is going well".  Your job does not end with the commission check, my friends and not keeping in touch is just throwing away an opportunity to be that customer's friend/relative/co-worker/etc.'s Realtor in the future, if your past customer doesn't think of you and only you when they think real estate.  No matter how close you were during the real estate transaction, people move on and will forget about you, unless you keep in contact periodically.

* KEEP WEBSITE FRESH:  Websites are not something you can "set and forget".  Sure, your basic template, theme, and even most of the content may stay the same for a long time.  But make it a point to add a new link, article, photo(s), section, etc. so you can keep your content updated and let the search engine optimization work for you.  No one ever got to page one of google overnight, so make sure no matter how busy you are, do NOT neglect your website (and ideally you won't neglect your blog either!).

OK, NOW GO SELL SOMETHING!

What are some things you're doing to rework your plan of action and stay in the business?  How are you branching out to be noticed in your community and how are you acquiring prospects (write a blog about it and post the link here).

Angela Elliott is a licensed Florida REALTOR® with Century 21 Classic Properties in Gainesville, FL. Please visit my profile for more about me and browse my Gainesville, FL real estate website for additional Alachua County information and listings. Your phone calls are always welcome at (352) 256-7038 as are your e-mails to angela.elliott1@century21.com.  A portion of all my closed sales will be donated to the Alachua Co. Humane Society (View my mission statement).  Follow all my services on MyBlogLog.